Senior Girl Scout passes torch to next generation

Published 7:00 pm, Monday, January 17, 2005

So when she began planning an event that would help fulfill her leadership requirements as a senior Girl Scout, she chose something close to her heart.

"My favorite thing about Girl Scouts is camping," Lybe said. "We have so much fun, making the fire, sitting around together relaxing and singing together in the woods."

For a Girl Scout, the Gold Award is the highest achievement, and is earned only after years spent specific requirements, including community service hours, career exploration, a variety of different badges, and 30 hours of leadership activities.

Lybe and her troop are unusual, according to troop leader Jo Anne Williams. There are 14 girls in the troop and six to eight will probably earn their Gold Award.

"There aren't many senior Girl Scouts in this area actually," Williams said. "Most girls don't stay in as long as these girls have."

"I chose to teach Sunday school because I really enjoy working with kids," Lybe said. "They're fun to be around and we always have a good time during school."

For Lybe, the indoor campfire she held at Huckleberry School was the final part of her leadership activities and one that she enjoyed immensely.

"I wanted to have an indoor camp fire for all of the younger girl scouts, because they get the experience of going camping without being outside in the cold," Lybe said.

The young Girl Scouts who came to the event were second- and third-graders, the same age Lybe was when she first joined the Girl Scouts. They all piled into the gym with blankets and pillows in tow, talking and giggling excitedly, as they waited for the evening to begin.

Older Scouts were there to help Lybe but it was up to her to do all of the planning beforehand, including asking Stop�&�Shop to donate all the food and drink.

"I had to take care of all the food and drinks, make songbooks, plan skits and most importantly figure out how to make a fake fire!" Lybe said. All of the food and drink was donated by .

She created the fire with real wood logs, a fan and red and gold cellophane strips that looked like flames when the fan blew them.

"We had over 200 girls come to this and it was really a lot of fun. They seemed to really enjoy it," said Williams, who is working on her leadership award, too.

According to troop leader Jo Anne Williams, it is because of this teamwork that Troop 115 will be the first group of senior Girl Scouts in Brookfield to receive a Gold award in almost six years.

"This is a great group of girls and they have really achieved a lot. The fact that they have been involved for so long says a lot about them, because there is a lot that goes into this and I'm really proud of all of them," Williams said.

"The major reason I have stayed in Girl Scouts all of these years would definitely be because of my troop," Lybe said. "It's such a fun group of people and we always have a good time, even when we are working hard on a project together." She will receive her leadership award in February, after which she will be eligible for her Gold Award.